


Cycles

by TheWitchOfTheRock



Series: Lab Partners [7]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Menstration, period, sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 10:09:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20776823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWitchOfTheRock/pseuds/TheWitchOfTheRock
Summary: Entrapta's not feeling so good. Luckily, it's one of the few situations that Hordak can actually deal with, provided he's feeling up to it himself.





	Cycles

Grogginess wasn’t something that Hordak dealt with a lot. Normally he woke up alert and ready to get to work. As of late he did tend to spend more time just laying next to Entrapta, her hair wrapped around him, but he was still awake and alert. 

So when he woke up feeling distinctly groggy, he was suddenly frantic. The first thing he did was check his hair. Last time he had felt at all groggy… His ears tilted down at the memory, his first rut. He checked his hair, which at that time had been stuck up and painful to the touch. 

Nothing. If anything, it was perhaps a little more limp than usual. He took a breath and relaxed. 

He was overthinking things. He was probably just tired. He had been working very hard, perhaps pushing himself a little more than normal despite the extra sleep he’d been getting. 

No matter. He’d get up, maybe eat a whole ration bar today instead of half. A quick shower, and he’d feel fine.

\-----

He did not feel fine. 

He wondered if he was actually getting sick. “Run down” was the phrase he was looking for. He had intended to eat a whole ration bar, but hadn’t the appetite for even his normal half. He had stood in the shower until the water ran cold, and still didn’t feel better. If this kept up, he’d have to go to the medical bay. With his luck there was some strange, Etherian bug that happened to be compatible with him. 

He entered the Sanctum, and found it empty. He twitched his ears, confused. Entrapta should be up by now. Normally by this time she’d have her tools strewn around, pieces of tech pulled apart, and she’d have already rushed up to him, talking very quickly about something she’d found. 

He frowned. This wasn’t like her. 

Imp was there, sitting on his throne, batting at one of Emily’s legs. 

“Has Entrtapta gotten up yet?” He asked. Imp shook his head. 

Hordak frowned. Well, no matter. He had other things to do, so he’d get a head start, maybe go over some more mundane tasks he had to deal with before she got up so he could be more involved in her work when she got started. 

He looked at his desk, with papers piled up on it. Somehow the idea of sitting on his throne, dealing with mundane tasks, taking needless reports from Force Captains filled him with dread. He just didn’t want to do it. 

He’d get through it though. The Fright Zone didn’t stop just because he was having an off day, and he didn’t want to fall behind for nothing. No, There was work to do, he’d do it.

But as he looked at the papers he’d have to go over, he decided that he could check on Entrapta first.

\-----

She had moved since he got up. She was still in bed, but she was curled up, her hair wrapped around herself like a little cocoon. He walked around to the side of the bed to get a better look at her. Her expression was contorted in pain, and she didn’t even notice he was near until he sat down on the edge of the bed. She opened her eyes, and looked up at him. 

“You’re in pain.” He stated. 

“I am.” She moaned, and pulled the covers over her head. He pulled the covers back and tried to get a better look at her. 

“You’re sick.” He wondered if they both had caught something, That would account for him feeling down. He wondered if he’d be in pain like this sooner than later, or if he was just more used to pain than she was at this point. 

“Yeah.” She muttered. 

Hordak didn’t know a lot about Etherian health. He knew what he had to know - the basics- but had no interest in following up on more complicated issues. “Well, I'm taking you to the medical bay.” He said, and reached down to lift her. She pushed away from him, rolling onto the other side of the bed. 

“There’s no need.” She said, irritation in her voice, which was odd for her “I’ll be fine.” 

“You don’t know that.” He said, “I’ve never seen you in pain like this before- “

“Normally i’m not in pain like this.” 

“So that means you should go to the medical bay, yes?” He walked to the other side of the bed, and sat down again, “If I was in pain like this, you’d demand I deal with it, yes?”

Entrapta moaned, and hid her face in one of the pillows, “Trust me, there’s not much the medical bay can do.” 

“But if you’re really sick…” he hesitated, then said, “I am not feeling.. Myself today either, to be blunt. If you’ve caught something, and you’ve given it to me…” 

Entrapta laughed, but it wasn’t her normal laugh. It was a low, dull chuckle. 

“You don’t have what I have.”

“You know what’s wrong then?”

“I do. I’ll be fine.” 

Hordak frowned, “Then what’s wrong.” 

Oddly, he could see her cheek turning red. He thought at first maybe it was fever, but no, it happened too fast. She was embarrassed?

“If you don’t tell me, I will take you to the medical bay.” He insisted. 

Entrapta groaned, and curled herself into a tighter ball. 

“Or if you won’t tell me, I’ll get a doctor to come up here.” He didn’t want to do that, honestly. There were enough rumors about him and Entrapta, and Entrapta lying sick in his quarters would add to that. 

“It’s…” She turned away. “What do you know about Etherian biology.” 

“A lot for someone who’s not Etherian.” He ventured, “I’ve been dealing with Etherians, and an army composed of Etherians for decades.” 

“What do you know about Etherian women?”

Oh. 

The pain. The irritation in her voice, her hesitance to go to the medical bay and her insistence that he didn’t have what she had. 

Hordak felt like an idiot. 

“Ah.” He said finally, his ears flicking at his own stupidity, “You’re having your period.” 

He saw her face flush, but he ignored it as he continued, “But… Etherian women, human Etherian woman are about every 28 days or so? You should have done this a few times around me. You’ve never been like this.” 

She turned her face towards him, still flushed red, but now also confused. “How do you know-”

“As I said, I’ve been leading an army of Etherians for decades, and most of my Force Captains are women. I was a lot more involved in the early days, when we didn’t have the resources we have now. If you’re working with a group of mostly women all day, every day, for years, you pick up on things.” He tilted his head at her, “Why is it so bad now?”

“... Sometimes my body just hates me, and decides I need to suffer for a bit.” 

“Ah. I see. That seems rather inconvenient.” he stood up, “Well. What do you need.”   
  


“Need?”

“From the medical bay. I’ll get what you need. Most of the Force Captains prefer tampons, but- “   
  


Entrapta flushed bright red, her mouth gaped open. “You.. what?”

“You’re in pain. I assume you’d rather not move, yes?” She nodded, “And these things will be essential, so… What should I get for you.”

“You’re going to get me tampons?”

“If that’s what you want.” He raised a brow at her, “Why is that strange?”

“... I’m just… Most Etherian men are a bit squeamish at this stuff.”

Hordak snorted. “Most Etherian men are bigger idiots than I thought originally.” he snapped. “Tampons then. Painkillers… Anything else? Most of the Force Captains I’ve dealt with had some kind of food craving.” 

“You provided your Force Captains with snacks?”

“I did not. I provided them with the essentials they needed. But my Force Captains weren’t curled up in my bed in pain. You get special treatment.”

Entrapta gave a weak smile. “I’d hope that none of your force captains were curled up in your bed.” She gave a light, tired giggle, then sank her head into the pillows. “You’re amazing.” She said softly, “I don’t tell you that enough.”

Hordak felt his ears flick and burn, “Now I know your sick.” he said. 

Entrapta rolled on her stomach, cuddling a pillow to her, “Can I have some tiny brownies?”

She looked so sad and tired, her voice was so soft that she was almost pathetic. Of course, Entrapta could never be actually pathetic. 

“I’ll see to it.” He said. He didn’t know where he’d get brownies, but if Entrapta could pull out plates of cupcakes and tiny bowls of soup, he was sure he could find brownies. He reached down, hesitated, then pulled the blankets up over her shoulders. She snuggled into the blankets, and closed her eyes as another cramp overtook her. 

He left the room. Stopping at his throne to tell Imp to go in and keep Entrapta company. He had an errand to run. 

\--------

The kitchens were pretty dull on most days. Luk occasionally made dishes properly if they were specially ordered by the Force Captains, but normally all he did was serve up the ration bars when people came for them. 

It was a waste. Lately all the fun he had was when Entrapta came into the kitchens, demanding to be allowed to make tiny cupcakes, tiny cookies, or one very strange time, tiny soup. There had been a sense of urgency that last time, but he didn’t mind. She made things interesting, and gave him something to do that wasn’t checking the expiration dates on the rations. 

His communicator beeped. He idly picked it up and saw a simple message. “Tiny Brownies are required in Hordak’s Sanctum.” 

It had been sent from Hordak’s Communicator. 

Luk frowned for a moment, staring at the message. It had to be for Entrapta- she was the only one who specifically asked for tiny foods. But why was Hordak ordering them?

Oh well. He didn’t care. He was happy enough to have something to do, and if the order came from the very top, he wasn’t going to question it. 

What he was going to do was make the best damned brownies the Horde had ever seen. 

\------

Mel had worked in the medical bay for 15 years. In those 15 years, she had stitched countless wounds, treated numerous ailments, and had treated every single member of the Horde army at one point or another. 

Well. Almost every. Hordak didn’t count. He was…. Not something that she had studied, and besides that he never came to her for anything. He was never sick, never injured beyond anything he could take care of himself, and simply never had any reason to see a doctor. He wasn’t the same as the rest of them, so he didn’t count. 

This explanation rang in her ears every time she bragged about how many people she had treated. She hated it. She almost hoped that he’d get a cold, or break a limb or something just so she could cross him off her list. 

The alert tone rang. She was in the storage closets of the infirmary, sorting through some supplies. She needed to send a request off to one of the Force Captains for some more antiseptic, and of course they’d only give her half of what they needed, and of course if she complained, they just say “Take it up with Lord Hordak.”

Of course, now she ordered double what she normally needed, and generally got what was actually needed, but it was still irritating that she had to do that. She grumbled to herself as she went into the infirmary proper. She wished she could give “Lord Hordak” A piece of her mind. 

She went into the infirmary, and was greeted by the sight of Lord Hordak standing alone, imposing, looking down at her from his impressive height. She froze, all the clever things she’d say to him slunk out of her head and shriveled up and died. 

“I need tampons, and pain killers.” he said. 

Mel blinked. She wondered if she had inhaled some fumes in storage, because it sounded like Lord Hordak was here, asking for -”

“Did you hear me?” He demanded, “I need tampons and pain killers.”   
  


“Ahh.. Ah.. Yes.” She turned around, and started getting the stuff he needed. 

She was confused for a few minutes as she got the things he demanded, but then she remembered that there was some girl that was around in his sanctum a lot, helping him with his various projects. She couldn’t recall the name, but a lot of people had been gossiping about her and Hordak. She didn’t pay much mind to rumors, but this was interesting. 

“I’m guessing these are for that girl, yes?” She had forgotten, with her back turned, who she was talking to, “Sir.” She added, “Sorry, I don’t know her name.”

“Entrapta, yes. Clearly.” 

“Right.” Mel said softly as she set the bag of supplies on the counter for him. She hesitated. This was her first time speaking to Hordak in years. She might never see him again. Did this count as helping him? No, he came and demanded these. 

If she wanted to check him properly off her list, she had to help him. 

“Uh… does she need a hot water bottle?”

Hordak raised a brow at her. 

“Some people feel better.. You know.. If they’re cramping? If they have a hot water bottle against them. 

“Give me one of them too.” 

Mel turned around and fetched a hot water bottle. “Let me fill it for you.” she said as she clicked on a nearby electric kettle. Lord Hordak gave a grunt that, really, could have meant anything. 

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Lord Hordak?” She asked, not turning back to him as she waited for the kettle to boil. 

“I believe this will be sufficient.”

Did this count as treating Lord Hordak? No, she’d not done anything for him. She frowned and turned around, trying to eye him without seeming too obvious. Maybe she could find something, maybe she could see something wrong. The problem was her limited experience with him - would she be able to tell if something was different?

She found that she could. 

“Sir.” She said suddenly, “If I could make an observation…?”

He stiffened, “Go ahead.” He said. 

“If I may then - You don’t look so well yourself.” He didn’t seem to react, so she continued, “From observation, you seem a little… off color?”

“Pardon?”

She couldn’t place it, but yes, his color was off. Duller, perhaps? Her keen eye was starting to pick up things that were different about him, as least as far as she could tell from the odd time she’d actually interacted with him anyway, “Yes. Your coloration is off.” His hair was also perhaps limper than normal, but hair wasn’t really something she could use for medical diagnosis. He looked perhaps more tired than normal though. “And if it's not too impudent … you look a little run down?”

“I see.” He said, his voice cold. For a moment, she was worried that she had overstepped herself. After a long moment of silence, he finally responded with, “Overwork, I assure you. There is much to be done.” 

The kettle started whistling. She turned quickly and started to fill the water bottle. “Well then.” She said, realizing that it was easier to talk to him if she was busy, “If I may suggest some rest then.” She carefully poured boiling water into the hot water bottle, careful to not burn herself, “The best minds are generally the ones that will push themselves to exhaustion.” She sealed up the bottle, and put it in the bag with the rest of his things. “If Entrapta is not her normal self, and your work with her is delayed, perhaps it’s a good time for you to limit your tasks today to the essential.”

As she passed him his bag, she glanced up at his face - unreadable. She wondered how Entrapta spent so much time around him without losing her mind trying to read this man. Though, from what she understood, Entrapta was obsessed with her experiments and projects, so perhaps she just didn’t care.

“I will take your advice under consideration.” He said. He took the bag, and left without another word. 

After several long moments, Mel decided that that could, indeed, count as treatment. Unsolicited medical advice, sure, but she had looked him over, had diagnosed him, had offered a treatment. 

That was enough to satisfy her. 

\---------

By the time Hordak returned to the Sanctum with the supplies for Entrapta, there was already a container of brownies sitting on a table. He was impressed by the speed that the Horde cook had produced them in. He picked up the container, and found they were still warm. 

He felt exhausted just from his trip out into The Fright Zone. He could have managed all his meetings, all his paperwork, and he could have managed some research, but all he wanted to do was sit and rest. 

_ Well, it is doctors orders. _ He thought to himself. He sent out a message on his communicator to all his force captains- He was dealing with important issues, and would not be taking meetings today unless absolutely necessary. Normally he only did this when there was a big issue, or some time sensitive research he had to deal with. He still had some papers to deal with, some reports to go over, but he could work through them slowly now.

He made his way back through the Sanctum, and through the hidden passage to his personal quarters. Entrapta was still there, curled up, scratching Imp’s head. Entrapta lifted her head slowly as she looked up at him.   
  


“Brownies?” He asked, holding them up for her to see. He set the brownies down on the bed, and took out her tampons and painkillers, and set them on the table next to the bed. 

Finally, he passed her the hot water bottle. “I’m told if you hold this to your stomach, you’ll feel better.”

She took the hot water bottle, and hugged it to herself, then pulled the brownies towards her. While she helped herself to very tiny, peanut topped brownies, Hordak opened the painkillers, and passed her a large, white pill. She frowned, took it, and popped it into her mouth before chasing it with a brownie.

Hordak got up, fully planning to let Entrapta spend the day just resting in bed, but then figured since he wasn’t actually going to have to deal with any Force Captains today, he didn’t need to be in the sanctum. 

He turned back to the bed, and lay down on the other side. Entrapta turned over and looked at him quizzically

“Doctor's orders.” He said simply. “She said I’m looking ‘Run down’”

“You are.” She said as she scooted closer to him, cuddling into his side. The heat of her body, and the head of the hot water bottle was strangely comforting. “Your blues are greyer, your hair is limper, and you’re not moving the same. You seem slower.”

He raised a brow at her, “How did you notice all that - You’ve not left this bed all morning.” 

She grinned, and snuggled her face into his side. Imp, who was disgruntled with her moving away from him, jumped up and sat in her hair. “I spend a lot of time around you.” She said, smiling, “I notice.” 

“Overwork, I suppose.” He said. He’d never quite felt like this before, “I probably would have managed to get through the day normally if I absolutely had to, but as the doctor had pointed out that if you were under the weather, our scientific research was limited today. Anything that’s absolutely necessary could be done from here provided nothing unexpected happens.” 

A tendril of hair wrapped around him, and she shifted so she could eat more brownies while Hordak looked over his papers. 

“Thanks for staying with me.” She murmured. “I normally just want to be left alone when I’m like this… but I’m kinda glad you’re taking care of me.” 

“You’ve done the same for me.” he said, his ears flicking down, burning. “Though, compared to building brand new armor, this is basically nothing.” 

“It means a lot to me.” She muttered as she lay on him, slowly eating brownies. 

Hordak frankly felt it was lucky that he and Entrapta were both feeling poorly at the same time. He’d never taken a sick day in his life, and at the very least, this one in particular wasn’t so bad. 

And honestly, he wasn’t worried. He’d probably never have to take another. 

  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
